Jack



Jan. 5, 1960 BLAls 2,919,554

' JACK Original Filed May 29, 1953 v JACK Joseph Lionel Blais, New Ipswich, N.H., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Tricnit Hosiery Mills, Inc., New Ipswich, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Original application May 29, 1953, Serial No. 358,480, now Patent No. 2,872,795, dated February 10, 1959. Divided and this application October 31, 1958, Serial No. 771,012

1 Claim. (CI. 66-40) The present invention relates to an improved needle actuating jack for a knitting machine.

This application is a division of applicants application for Letters Patent Serial 358,480, filed in the United States on May 29, 1953 for Circular Knitting Machines, now Patent No. 2,872,795.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved jack for actuating the needles of a circular knitting machine, which is provided with cam engaging surfaces constructed and arranged to cooperate with a jack swing and rise cam to cause the cam to positively engage and draw the lower end of the jack radially outwardly to an alternative jack raise position.

The several features of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a developed diagrammatic view of portions of a needle cam and needle jack assembly illustrating a preferred use of applicants improved needle actuating jack;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view illustrating the lower end of the needle jack as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the jack swing and rise cam for swinging outwardly and raising the jack shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

The jack which forms the subject matter of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in a circular knitting machine of the general type having needles vertically reciprocable in slots formed in the periphery of a rotating needle cylinder and a series of needle actuating jacks supported to slide in slots immediately beneath the butt ends of the needles. The needles and jacks are conventionally held in position in their slots in the cylinder by means of coiled spring bands which extend about the periphery of the needle cylinder. As more fully set forth in applicants copending application of which the present application is a division, it is proposed to move selected needle jacks upwardly to an operating position in which they and their associated needles are controlled by one set of cams to form a first knitting wave while non-selected needle jacks of the series are at the same time maintained in a low idling position in which they will be acted upon to initiate the formation of a second knitting wave by a non-selected jack activating cam having a jack guiding and rise surface contoured to move the lower ends of the non-selected jacks outwardly from the needle cylinder as they are moved upwardly. The outward curve of the no-selected jack activating cam away from the needle cylinder removes this cam from the path of the downward movement of the selected jacks which at this time have completed their intended operation and are being returned to a low idling position. A feature of the present invention consists in a novel and improved construction of the needle jacks including the configuration of said jacks at their lower ends to cause States Patent ice the jacks to cooperate as above described with the newly provided needle jack outward guiding and rise cam.

Referring specifically to the diagrammatic Fig. 1 of the drawings, a series of needles 22 and needle actuating jacks 24 are shown together with certain of the actuating cams for the needles and jacks which are particularly constructed and arranged for actuating selected jacks and their associated selected needles to form a knitting wave A while other non-selected needle actuating jacks and their associated needles are maintained in a relatively low idling position, and thereafter to cause the non-selected needle jacks and their associated non-selected needles to form a second knitting wave B at the same time that the actuating jacks for the selected needles are being returned to their idling position. Assuming that the needles and jacks supported in the knitting cylinder are moving from right to left, the master butt 28 of each succeeding jack is engaged and raised by a needle support cam 60 which moves the jack upwardly to an operative position in which any one of the steps 30 to 37 inclusive is in a position to be engaged by one of the corresponding jack selector cams 62 to 69 inclusive. The jacks are thus selected and raised to a position in which the master butts 28 are engaged with a jack raise cam 70 to engage and advance the associated needle to its high yarn taking position A at a first yarn feeding station. The selected jacks 24 which have been raised with the needles to the yarn taking position by jack raise cam 70 are immediately returned to their low position by engagement of the master butt 23 with a downwardly sloping jack cam 72. It is believed unnecessary to follow further the operation of the selected needles. The path followed by the selected jacks 24:, as above outlined, is indicated by the dotted line 76 in Fig. 1.

The path which is followed by those jacks which have not been selected by the operation of some one of the selector cams 62 to 69 is indicated by the dotted line 78 in Fig. 1. These jacks will travel at the level to which they have been moved by the needle support cam 60 until they engage with a non-selected jack down cam 80, whereupon they are returned to an extreme low idling position.

The non-selected jacks are now raised at the same time that the previously selected jacks are being returned to their low position to cause the associated non-selected needles to form a second knitting wave B. For carrying out this selected raising of the non-selected jacks, a nonselected jack activating cam 162 is provided which acts to engage and raise the non-selected jacks from the idle position to which they have been returned by the nonselected jack down cam 80 without, however, engaging or interfering in any way with the selected jacks which are returned downwardly to the idling level by means of the regular jack down cam 72.

The non-selected jack activating cam 162 is formed with a rise surface which at its starting end is located to engage against the lower end portion of the non-selected jacks guided downwardly by the cam 80. The rise portion of the cam 162 is curved radially outwardly from the surface of the needle cylinder sufficiently so that it will with certainty clear the lower ends of the selected jacks being moved downwardly by the regular jack down cam 72. The non-selected jacks are thus raised so that their master butts are engaged with a special cam 168 causing the non-selected jacks and their associated needles to be moved upwardly to effect the forming of the second knitting wave. The non-selected jack activating cam 162 is mounted on a backing plate 184 and is mounted on a relatively fixed pivot member 176 exteriorly of the needle cylinder, not shown.

In accordance with the present invention, the jacks 24 are provided at their lower ends with notched portime which are specifically constructed and shaped to cause the jacks to engage against a correspondingly grooved surface of the activating cam 162. The notched lower ends of the jacks cooperate with the grooved surface of the activating earn 162 to cause the lower end' of each non-selected jack to be moved outwardly from the needle cylinder following the contour of the raised surfaceof the activating earn 162. The notched lower end of the jack 24, as specifically designated at 164, is formed with a transversely formed rise cam engaging surface, and at the edge thereof outwardly of the needle cylinder, a downwardly extending cam engaging ledge, which engages against the outer face of cam 162 causing the lower end of the jack to be carried outwardly following the outward curvature of the earn 162 at the same time that the jack is moved upwardly by the engagement of the transverse surface of the jack with the rise portion of said cam 162.

The invention having been described what is claimed 18:

A needle jack adapted for use in a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, 11- series of verticail'y movable independent needles in the cylinder, a series of needle jacks mounted beneath the needles in the cylinder, and selecting means for said needles and jacks including a jack selector cam having transverse and longitudinal cam rise surfaces which curve outwardly from the needle cylinder, said needle jack having a bottom portion shaped to provide a transversely formed rise cam engaging sur face, and at the edge thereof outwardly from the needle cylinder a downwardly extending cam engaging ledge adapted for engagement respectively with said jack selector cam transverse and longitudinal cam rise surfaces for controlling the position of the lower end of said jack outwardly from the needle cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,726,525 Haddad Dec. 13, 1955 

